Stephen Sizer: more than 40% of Christians are Zionists

Remember, Sizer thinks Zionists are the cause of strife in the Middle East. Stephen Sizer says this in Indonesia, a country where persecution of Christians is rife.

Sizer gave this talk in 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Here are excerpts from the 2007 religious freedom report from Indonesia:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90137.htm


In September 2005 a court sentenced three women from the Christian Church of Camp David to 3 years imprisonment under the Child Protection Law for allegedly attempting to convert Muslim children to Christianity. The women claimed that family members gave permission for their children to attend Christian youth programs. The Supreme Court rejected the women's appeal in 2006. They served two years of their sentences and were released on parole on June 11, 2007.

In April 2007, Malang police arrested eight persons accused of disseminating a "prayer training" video produced by the College Student Service Organization in Batu, East Java. The video allegedly depicts 30 Christians being instructed by their leader to put Qur'ans on the floor at a December 2006 gathering. Following the initial arrests, an additional 33 persons were detained under blasphemy charges in connection with the videos. Christian church leaders denied allegations that Christians were involved in the production or distribution of the videos. At the end of the reporting period, the 41 persons detained were still awaiting trial.
The Indonesian Christian Communication Forum claimed that eight small, unlicensed churches in West Java were shut down during the reporting period by Muslim extremist groups despite a 2 year grace period contained in the revised regulation for houses of worship to obtain permits per the new requirements. In 2006 militant groups forcibly closed two churches without police intervention. Another 20 churches closed in 2006 under pressure from militant groups after the promulgation of the revised decree remain closed, according to the Forum. While often present, police rarely acted to prevent forced church closings and sometimes assisted militant groups in the closure. In early June 2006 the central Government announced its intentions to crack down on vigilantism by militant religious groups against places of worship as well as other targets. At the end of the reporting period, there were no specific reports of action.

In November 2005 local police arrested a foreigner and a citizen who were associated with a Christian working on a humanitarian dam building project on the island of Madura. Police acted after local religious leaders alleged that the two engaged in proselytizing. The allegations appeared to be sparked by jealousy on the part of leaders that their communities had not received similar projects. Prosecutors charged the citizen, who continued to publicly profess a nontraditional version of Islam, with denigrating a religion, and the court sentenced him to 2 � in prison. The foreigner was convicted of immigration violations, sentenced to 5 � months, and deported.



According to the Indonesian Christian Communication Forum, militant groups forced the closing of eight small, unlicensed churches during the reporting period. The Islamic Defenders Group (FPI), the Anti-Apostate Movement Alliance (AGAP), and the Anti-Apostate Division (DAP) of the Indonesian Islamic Ulama Forum, backed by some local Muslim communities, orchestrated many of the church closings. AGAP and FPI stated that they targeted churches that operated without the permission of the local government and the surrounding community as required by the 2006 Revised Joint Ministerial Decree on the Construction of Houses of Worship, despite the two-year grace period to legally register. Many of the targeted churches operated in private homes and storefronts.

On September 2, 2006, a mob burned down the Evangelical Mission Church in Siompi, Aceh Singkil, after news spread that the church was planning a revival meeting. When a large number of Christians turned out for the meeting, they were confronted by several Muslims who disapproved of the revival meeting. The police did not intervene in the attack. Pastor Luther Saragih was briefly detained by police and told to send the Christians home. Later that night, an estimated 100 men on motorbikes set the church ablaze and went looking for Pastor Saragih and his pregnant wife. The pastor and his wife escaped into the jungle and hid there until they were found unharmed by friends early the next morning. Pastor Saragih and his wife later moved to escape continued threats.

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